By Doreen Marion Gee

What does the word community mean to me? It means people banding together to support and help each other. A sense of community comes from individuals working together to form a neighbourhood based on compassion and inclusion. Sometimes it means informing people of issues that affect them. In my view, community is caring in action and being "our brother's keeper." It is neighbours going to bat for someone in trouble. Looking to the past and present, it is clear that James Bay has always had a strong spirit of kinship and affinity among its residents. To me, this benevolent definition of community resonates in James Bay's history.

Present examples of that helping spirit abound. Recently, the James Bay community galvanized to protest the development of the Emily Carr Apartments. People were justifiably concerned about the possible displacement of their neighbours. A large article in the February Beacon demonstrates the active role of the James Bay Neighbourhood Association in addressing the air quality concerns of Ogden Point residents.

A short foray into James Bay's past also illuminates a keen sense of looking out for one another. In an article in the March 1993 James Bay Beacon called "A Caring Community Starts Here", Enid Elliot says that a community is there to fill important social needs. In this case, they need space to accommodate adults willing to work with youth. Elliot is very sincere: "As a community, James Bay should be able to care for all the age groups within its boundaries." Back in 1984, our community newspaper was called "The James Bay News". The May 1984 issue describes an upcoming community discussion at the James Bay Community Centre where a guest speaker will assist parents to deal with their teenagers who are making the transition from elementary to junior high school. The announcement states that “Rena Miller, a Child Care Counsellor, will help give us insight and understanding in regards to what is happening with our children.” These examples demonstrate that James Bay sense of a nurturing community. A little nugget sparkles in the September 1992 edition of the James Bay Chronicle/Beacon, the very first issue of the new James Bay Newspaper Society. It seems that this idea of a community 'working together' was one reason for the creation of the original James Bay News in 1973 which eventually morphed into our present paper. Carol Popp interviewed Mary Pankowski, one of the founders of The James Bay News. When asked why she and her husband started the paper, she talked about the problem with high-rise development in James Bay back in the seventies. With LIP grant money, they hired people to interview the locals and found out that people did not like the new high rises. Mary Pankowski said that the James Bay Community Association was born out of a meeting to discuss these issues with Bob Pankowski as their PR man. To quote his wife, "Bob decided the most effective way to bring a community together was to make them aware of what was going on and give them some pride in their community. So the Association started a newsletter which eventually evolved into the James Bay News." It fascinates me that this cohesive aspect of community, where people talk to and learn from each other, is one of the roots of our present community newspaper.

This concept of community as a group of supportive friends is best summed up by "M.T." in the September 1984 edition of The James Bay News. Her words about our little haven flow like golden syrup: "James Bay is a community, not just a bunch of people living together because they have to live somewhere. I admire the James Bay spirit: the gift of helping one another and the feeling that we can all work together to keep the things we cherish."